EVERTON'S ignominious exit from the FA Cup at the Riverside yesterday afternoon may persuade the Clarets to renew their interest in former England star Paul Gascoigne.

The midfielder played the full 90 minutes against his former team in what is expected to be his last match in the Cup.

His future remains the subject of intense speculation and Burnley were one of the clubs that Walter Smith admitted had made an enquiry about the player's availability.

Clarets chairman Barry Kilby has confirmed manager Stan Ternent's interest in the player and although interest cooled after Smith insisted Gazza was going nowhere before the end of the season, another phone call to Goodison Park cannot be ruled out.

There were even suggestions that Gascoigne had sent a friend to watch Burnley win 2-0 at Stockport County on Saturday to allow him to get an idea about the state of his potential new team.

The Toffees are deep in a relegation battle and their fight for Premier League survival will not have been helped by yesterday's surrender against Middlesbrough.

Gascoigne lost the ball in midfield ahead of Boro's second goal but he gave a hard-working performance before tiring near the end.

With no midweek game Ternent has a bit of space to try and strengthen his squad with eight matches left to play.

Skipper Steve Davis has admitted the football legend would be welcomed to Turf Moor by the rest of the squad but it remains to be seen if a deal can be sorted out.